Treasure of Ali Baba and the Sixty Eight Thieves

Chapter 4 : The Tournament of Warriors

Persia...

The day of the tournament came. Friends met a little far from the palace.

"We brought a friend with us," Ujaas said to Vikram.

"Who is this?" Vikram asked.

"This is Akash," Ujaas said. "And he will be participating in the tournament with us. Don't worry, you can trust him with your secret."

"Nice to meet you," Akash greeted Vikram.

"Nice to meet you too," Vikram replied.

"At first I was not going to participate but these guys, huh," Akash said.

An hour earlier...

Ujaas and Rohan visited Akash's shop.

"Oii Akash, where are you?" Ujaas said.

"Oh, hi Rohan, how are you?" Akash asked Rohan.

"I am fine, what about you?" Rohan asked.

"I fine too," Akash replied and looking at Ujaas, said, "Who are you?"

Rohan started laughing again.

"Doesn't matter," Ujaas replied seriously. "We are here to take you."

"To where?" Akash asked.

Ujaas told him about the tournament. At first Akash rejected but when Ujaas and Rohan gave him a little push by telling him about the prize.

"But do you know about the prize for winning the tournament?" Ujaas asked.

"I don't want anything," Akash said. "I just want to make my precious shop a success."

"Not even a golden sword?" Rohan asked smiling cleverly. "Think about it, a blacksmith and a golden sword. What a marvelous combination."

"Yes," Ujaas said. "Its like crown on the queen, cherry on the cake, Akash on the golden sword."

"Wait wait," Rohan said to Ujaas. "I think you got something wrong."

"Oh, my bad, I mean crown on the king," Ujaas said. "It makes more sense, hahaha."

"Never mind," Rohan sighed.

"Alright, I am ready, lets go," Akash said.

Present...

"So that's how I ended up here," Akash said.

"Well, if everyone is ready then lets move," Vikram said and the four friends started walking towards arena. But they didn't knew someone was watching them from shadows.

After few minutes, they reached arena. 

"I guess the entries for the tournament are there," Rohan said.

They walked to the reception where they saw a teenager taking part in the tournament. He was surrounded by the guards.

"This kid looks like a royal," Akash said.

"Do you know him?" Ujaas asked Vikram.

"No, he is not from Persia," Vikram said. "Must be from some other country."

"Wait a minute, if you fight in the tournament people are gonna see your face," Ujaas said to Vikram. "What about your secret?"

"Don't worry," Vikram said. "I brought this mask with me."

"That will do," Ujaas said.

The four friends reached their turn for the entry.

"Sir, please give me your warrior name for the tournament," Receptionist said to Akash.

"Akash will do," Akash said.

"You are so boring," Ujaas said from behind.

"Whatever," Akash said and entered the arena.

"Hahaha.., its my turn now," Rohan said with confidence. "My name should resemble my personality. That's why the name perfect for me is, 'The Unexpected'. Hahahahaha..."

"I practiced for this tournament for such a long time but never thought about the warrior name," Vikram said nervously.

"Its fine sir," the receptionist said. "We can keep your name as 'Warrior No. 22'. You can change it later whenever you want."

"That's fine," Vikram said and moved inside the arena. Rohan, Akash and Vikram were waiting for Ujaas to enter the waiting room. Fifteen minutes passed but he didn't come. After half an hour Ujaas came.

"Where were you?" Rohan asked. "We were waiting for you for so long."

"My bad, I was just outside to set up something," Ujaas said.

"What is it?" Vikram asked.

"You will see," Ujaas giggled.

The friends got ready for the tournament.

"Its good that we can still watch the tournament from the waiting room," Vikram said.

"Yes, the whole arena is visible from here," Rohan said.

After few minutes, commentators started speaking. There was one male and one female commentator and arena was full of crowd to watch the tournament.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome all of you to 'The Tournament of Warriors'," Gale said. "I am Gale and here on my side is Miss Rose and her beautiful voice."

"Hello everyone," Rose said. "Today is the day, warriors from all over Persia and nearby countries are going to fight in this arena and the winner of the tournament will be taking 'The Sword of the Greatest', a golden sword, one of its kind."

"My heart, it can kill me," Ujaas said grabbing his heart while smiling. "But its gonna be the best of all."

"He seems excited about the tournament," Rohan thought looking at Ujaas.

"Yes," Gale said. "And now, I will tell you the rules of the tournament. The tournament will be single elimination, a competition in which only the winners of each stage play in the next stage, until one competitor is the final winner. The competitors will fight one-on-one hand-to-hand combat and has to defeat the opponent to clear to the next stage."

"Competitors will be notified in the waiting rooms for their match, so be ready," Rose said.

"Good luck everyone," Akash said. "Just don't force yourself there. Its just a tournament." 

"Alright," everyone agreed and the tournament started.